Bag filling machine



Noi'. 10, 1936. 0 A, ANDREAS 2,060,011

BAG FILLING MACHINE Filed March 16, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1v l 2l i 3 fi u l. y E2/'Z3 I zz I o 6 [g [ZJ fi5- o 1i lz 4 e if 5 J. 1/ y la L L :a n ld I b i 3 /l 7 l n ARN@ ANDREAS Nov. 10,'1936. A. ANDREAS 2,050,011

BAGrv FILLING MACHINE Filed March 16, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ARNO ANDREAS TTORNEY n Patented Nov. 10, 1936v PATENT GFFICE 2,000,011 BAG FILLING MACHINE lArno Andreas, Munster, (lei-many,l assigner to Bagpak, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application March 16, 1932, Serial No. 599,151 In Germany March 30, 1931 `1:. claims. (cl. 2411-00) This invention relates to machines for illllng bags with divided material such as cement, and more particularly to an improved machine of the type in which the bag and contents are iweighed coincidentally with the lling operaion.

An object of the invention resides in the provision of improved means for supporting a bag in .lling position, including interconnections with the Weighing mechanism. More specifically, the invention involves a bag support having a spout adapted to enter a valve opening in the bag for guiding material thereinto, and means including `a balance arm to weigh the bag on said support, all constructed so that during the lling and weighing operation the movement of the spout with respect to a conduit for feeding material thereinto is practically negligible. Another object is to provide zu such means in which the Weight carrying portion of the balance arm travels sufficiently to operatively control a cut-off valve for the feed of material. Still another object is to construct a device of the character mentioned in which the bag support is carried with the other parts of the device so that the need for guides for the support is obviated. A feature of the invention resides in such a construction which is simple and inexpensive 'to'manufacture eiiicient in operation, durable in service and particularly compact and light in weight. Other objects and advantages will be in part apparent and in part pointed out in connection with the following detailed description of embodiments of the in- .5 vention.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation, partly in section, of one form of bag filling machine in accordance with the invention. f o Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 of another form of' the invention.

Figure 3 is a view in horizontal section on line 3--3 of Figure 1.

Referring first to Fig. 1 there is shown at I 45 a frame supporting a. `propelling device 2 to which the material to be filled into bags or other containers is fed through a supply hopper 3. This hopper is shown provided with an outlet conduit 4 aligned with a spout 5 adapted to 50 enter the valve opening in a valvebag. This spout 5 is shown carried with a rack 6 having a platform 'I 4for supporting the bottom of the bag. The rack may rest through a pair of arms 8, as illustrated in Figure 3, on knife edges 9a 55 carried on triangular or V-shaped lever arm 9.

The forward ends of the lever 9 may be supported through knife edges 9a in suitable grooves Illa of forwardly extending arms I0 carried rigidly with the frame I. The rear end of the V-shaped lever 9 is shown supported through 5 link Il 'on the forward portion of balance arm I2 of the weighing mechanism, the link II being pivotally connected to the lever 9 and balance arm I2 by means of knife edges Sb'and I2a respectively.` A suitable weight v:supporting 10 tray I3 is shown hung on the rear portion ofy the balance arm I2 through knife edge I2b. The rack 6 is shown provided with a rearwardly extending arm Il, the rear end of which is hung from the forwardl portion of the balance 15 arm through a link I5 having a hook lia for engaging a hook Ila on the arm Il. 'I'he upper end of the link I5 may be hung on the balance arm through a knife edge I2c.

There is shown at I6 a slide or gate valve 20 adapted to .close the opening in the outlet conduitY to cut-o the ow of material from the hopper. 'This valve may be connected through a suitable lever I8 pivoted as at I1 and adapted to cooperate'with an electromagnet I9. 'I'he bal- 25,

ance arm I2, at the beginning of the filling operation, may rest upon a suitable support 20 carried by the frame I, and have an extension 2| for contacting, when the bag is full, with a plate 22 connected through wires 24 and 25 to 30 electromagnet I9, battery 23 and frame I, for completing the` circuit and causing the magnet to be energized to close the valve I 0.

The operation of the machine will no doubt be apparent from the above description of its construction but may be summarized as follows. A bag having been placed on the rack 6 with its valve opening over the spout 5 and the valve I6 having been opened, manually or through any convenient device (not shown), the propeller 2,

which preferably rotates constantly, feeds material from the hopper 3 into the bag. As the bag lls, the bag rack descends, finally overcoming the balancing effect of the weight on the tray I3, with the result that the projection 2| on the bal- 45 ance arm I2 contacts with the plate 22, efIecting closing of the valve I6 in the manner indicated.

In the construction illustrated, it will be apparent that vthe eiective moment arm of the bag support is considerably greater than the moment arm of the weight tray, and that in this manner the deflection or downward movement of the bag rack may be made practically negligible. That is to say, as the material for filling the bag runs into the latter, the bag rack will descend, and it is desirable to have the movement of the rack as small as possible in order that the spout B will not come out'of line with the conduit l. At the same time, by the inter-position of the lever member between the bag rack 6 and the balance arm I2, the travel of the projection or extension 2l on the balance arm may be made suitable for eecting the contact in order to cause the closing of valve i6. Moreover, not only is the travel of the bag rack slight, but also the weight required to counterbalance the weight of the rack and filled bag is relatively small. By means of the suspension of the bag rack, the two spaced points on the balance arm I2, and on the frame I, tilting of the bag rack in the plane of Fig. 1 is avoided. At the same time. by providing a plurality of supports 8a, sideways tilting of the rack is eliminated. Moreover, the bag rack is freely suspended.

While a specific lever construction is illustrated, it will be understood that other classes and arrangements of levers may be employed. It will also be understood that the particular three-point suspension of the bag rack, while preferred, may be modified without sacrificing the advantage of the limited travel of the bag rack.

Referring now to Fig. 2, there is shown a construction similar to that shown in Fig. 1 and including a frame 28 supporting a propeller or turbine 29 for feeding material. The material may be delivered to the propeller through a hopper In which may advantageously be connected with the propeller housing by an inclined passage Il, constructed and arranged so that the material flows down the side thereof in a uniform manner. This passage ll may be formed with a bend in the same so that the material is required to reverse its direction before passing into the propeller housing, its rate of travel being thus further slowed up. In the discharge or outlet conduit I2 of the propeller housing, there is shown a valve 34, the closing of which may be controlled by an electromagnet Il. When the valve I4 is closed, and the propeller continues to rotate, there is considerable swirling of the material in the propeller housing, with the result that a great deal of dust is thrown about and the material may be objectionably heated. In order to minimize this tendency. there is shown provided in the housing a bame 25 which providesy a passage 35a through which material may be returned by the propeller into the hopper. A baille IIb may be provided to prevent material from the hopper entering this passage. In this manner, the material is simply re-circulated instead of being ground by the propeller. The valve 34 may be arranged so that when it closes the conduit I2 it simultaneously opens the e ila. 'I'he valve I4 may be constructed as a full feed valve, having an opening 36 therein so that some material continues to ow through the opening even after the valve is closed. In thisv event, a dribble feed valve 3l is preferably provided in front of the valve u, and controlled by an electromagnet $1.

As shown, the construction of the spout ,39, lever lll, links Il, 42, balance arm 43, and bag rack M may be similar to that shown and described in connection with Fig. 1; Instead of a weight tray, a weight l5 is shown slidably carried on the scale beam, which beam is adapted to rest on a projection I6, before the illling operation commences. l Y.

Even though the ilt between the spout 39 and the conduit 32 is close, and though the movement of the spout with respect to the conduit is very slight,.it may still be desirable to surround the joint with a dust collecting device I1 which may be made oi.' ilexible material and of generally annular shape. Chamber 41' in this means may be connected through a tube 4l to any suitable vacuum means (not shown).

Mechanism for automatically and successively closing the valves Il and 3l may take the following form. The balance arm 43 is shown provided with an extended portion 49 adapted to contact with U-shaped spring 50 which is secured at one end Athrough insulating material 5l to frame 28. The free end of the spring l0 is shown carrying a pin 52 normally contacting with plate 5I which is connected through wire 5l and battery 55 to magnet 33. As the scale beam tilts, when the bag is nearly filled, the extension 4l contacts with the lower arm of the U-shaped member ll, thus completing -the circuit ll-I-Z---JS- 50-52-`-53-5l, and closing the valve, through coaction with suitably pivoted arm 34a on which the valve is carried. As the material continues to flow into the bag through opening Il in valve Il, the extension I9 rises till pin 52 is lifted from plate 53 and caused to contact with plate Bl which is connected through wires Il and ll to battery l1 and electromagnet 31. 'I'he ilow of current is then B1-59-3l-28-434I-I0-l2l|. Excitation o'f this magnet elects closing of valve Il. thus entirely cutting off the flow of material into the bag. The closing'of the valves is thus substantially instantaneous, with resultant accuracy in weights. The scale beam extension Il descends, when the full bag is removedfrom the scale, and thus effects deenergization of the magnets. Any suitable means. not shown, may be employed for opening valves Il and Il.

As already indicated the lever construction for supportingthe bag is such that the counterbalanc ing weight on the scale mechanism need be but a small fraction of the weight of the bag support and a full bag. 'I'he present construction is thus especially suited to employment in portable devices. Accordingly, the frame 28 is shown provided with 'roliers 60 and with Jacks Il for lifting the machine of! the rollers while the machine is operating. Each jack is shown threaded for engagement with iianges 02 on frame 2l. By adlusting the jacks the machine may be leveled.

'I'he terms and expressions which I have employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation and I have no intention, in the use of such terms and descriptions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described, or portions thereof, but recognise that various modincations are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

1. In a machine for illling containers with divided material comprising a hopper, a propeller housing, a constantly rotating propeller therein for feeding material, and valve bag supporting means including a spout adapted to enter the bag and through which material enters the fbag, weighing mechanism including a balance arm, a valve for cutting of! the fiow'of material into the spout, means to close said valve controlled by the weighing mechanism, and means to continuously interconnect said bag supporting means with the balance arm during the nlling operation. said interconnecting means including a lever arm interposed between said bag supporting means and said balance arm and constructed and arranged so that the eective moment arm of the said bag supporting means is greater than the effective moment arm of the balance.

housing, a constantly rotating propeller therein for feeding material, and means including a spout to support the container in'iilling position, said propeller advancing material through said spout into the container, weighing mechanism including a balance arm, valve means for cutting off the flow of material into thercontainer, means to close the valve means controlled by the weighing mechanism, and means to continuously interconnect said bag supporting means with the balance arm during the filling operation, said interconnecting means including a lever arm interposed between said bag supporting means and said balance arm and constructedand arranged so that the effective moment arm of the said bag supporting means is greater than the effective moment arm of the balance.

a 3. In a machine for filling containers with divided material comprising a hopper, a propeller housing, a constantly rotating propeller therein for feeding material, a frame, rollers adapted to portably support the frame, means to support the container in filling position on the frame including a spout, said propeller serving to convey material through said spout into the container, weighing mechanism including a balance arm, valve means for cutting off the flow of material into the container, means to close the valve means controlled by the weighing mechanism, and means to continuously interconnect said bag supporting means with the balance arm during the filling operation, said interconnecting means including a lever `arm interposed between said bag-supporting means and said balance arm and constructed and arranged so that the effective moment arm of the said bag supporting means is greater than the effective moment arm of the balance.

4. Ina machine for filling containers with divided material comprising a hopper, a propeller housing, a .constantly rotating propeller therein for feeding material, valve bag supporting means including a spout adapted to enter the bag and to convey material to said bag, weighing mechanism including a balance arm, a valve forcutting off the flow of material into the spout, means to close said valve controlled by the weighing mechanism, and means interposed between the bag supporting means and the balance arm for suspending the bag supporting means at a plurality of points separate from the balance arm and operatively interconnecting the bag supporting means with the balance arm throughout the filling operation.

5. In a machine for filling containers with divided material comprising a hopper, a propeller housing, a v'constantly rotating propeller therein for feeding material, means to support the container in filling position including a spout to convey material from said propeller housing into the container, weighing mechanism including a bal-4 ance arm, valve means for cutting off the flow of material into the container, means to close the valve means controlled by the weighing mechanism, and means interposed between the bag supporting means and the balance arm for suspending the bag supporting means at a plurality of points separate from the balance arm and operatively interconnecting the bag supporting means with the balance arm throughout the filling operation.

6. In a machine for filling containers with di- .vided material, means to support the container in filling position, means to convey material into the container, weighing mechanism including a l rial therepast.

balance arm, valve means for cutting of! the flow of material into the container means to close the valve means controlled by the weighing mechanism, and means interposed between the bag supporting means and the balance arm for suspending the bag supporting means simultaneously from a plurality'of spaced fixed points and a pluralityof spaced points on the balance arm.

'7. In a machine for lling bags with divided material, a hopper, a propeller housing, a constantly rotating propeller therein for feeding material, a valve at the outlet side of the propeller, and a baille in the hopper forming a passage for material advancing to the propeller and a passage for returning material from the propeller to the mst-named passage, said valve being constructed and arranged to simultaneously restrict the flow of material out of the housing and open the second-named passage..

8. In a machine for filling bags with divided material, a hopper, a propeller housing, a constantly rotating propeller therein for` feeding material, a valve at the outlet side of the propeller, and a baiiie in the hopper forming a passage for material advancing to the propeller and a passage for returning material from the'. propeller tothe first-named passage, said valve beingconstructed and arranged to simultaneously restrict theuflow of material outpf the housing and openitiie second-named passgmvand being adapted to .permit a relatively small-How 'of mate- 9. -In a machine for filling bags with divided material, a hopper, a propeller housing, `a constantly rotating propeller therein for feeding material, a valve at the outlet side of the propeller, and a baille in the hopper forming a passage for material advancing to the propeller and a passage for returning material from the propeller to the first-named passage.

10. In a. machine for-filling containers with divided material comprising a hopper, a propeller housing, a constantly rotating propeller therein for ,feeding material, and a spout communicating with said propeller housing and serving to support the container in filling condition and to convey material into the container, weighing mechanism including a balance arm; valve means for cutting oif the flow of material into the container, and a lever arm operatively interposed between the supporting means and the balance arm for continuously connecting said supporting means and balance arm throughout the filling operation.

11. In a machine for filling containers with divided material comprising a hopper, a propeller housing, a constantly rotating propeller therein for feeding material, and a spout communicating with said propeller housing and serving to support the container in filling condition and to convey material' into the container, weighing mechanism includinga balance arm, valve means for cutting off the iiow of material into the container, and a V-shaped lever arm extending at either side of the supporting means and operatively interposed between the same and the balance arm.l

peller, a baille in the hopper forming a passage.

for material advancing to the propeller and a passage for returning material from the propeller'l to the first-.named passage, said valve having .sufficient length' and being sotmountedxvthatit simultaneously restricts the iiow of material out of the housing and opens the second-named passage, and having an opening therein to permit a relatively small now oi material therepast, and a s second valve to close said opening.

13. In a machine .for filling bags with divided material, a hopper, a propeller housing, a constantly rotating propeller therein for feeding material, a valve at the outlet si'de of the propel- 10 ler, a baille in the hopper forming a passage for material advancing to the propeller and a passage for returning material from the propeller to the first-named passage, said valve having sumcient length and being so mounted that it simultaneously restricts the flow of material out of the housing and opens the second-named passage, and having an opening therein to permit a relatively small flow of material therepast. a second valve to close said opening, and weighing mechanism supporting a bag in illiing position and controlling said valves.

ARNO ANDREAS. 

